Chaplain, Husband, Father, Disciple

About The Podcast

Nick Cash wears many hats—chaplain in the Georgia Army National Guard, devoted husband, father of four, and associate pastor at Cityscape Church in Columbus. This week, he shares about the joys of fostering and adoption, how community enriches our spiritual journeys, and the perspective he gained on Scripture while deployed to an active combat zone in Iraq. Plus, advice for men who want to deepen their Bible study but aren’t sure where—or how—to begin.

Show Notes

Timestamps

Discussion

1. Have you ever served in the armed forces, National Guard, or reserves? If so, what was your motivation for enlisting, and what did that service add to your life? If not, do you have any relatives or friends who served? Do you know what their motivations were, and what were the positives they said they gained from their service? Matthew 20:26-28
2. Have you ever felt “called”—by God, or just an insistent inner voice—to a certain career, vocation, or service, but were reluctant to answer that call? What do you think your reluctance stemmed from—fear, a feeling of being inadequate for the task, concerns over your life potentially being disrupted? What eventually inspired you to overcome those misgivings and answer that call? Ephesians 4:1
3. Nick talks about having a new perspective on certain treasured Bible verses—and being called upon to trust them in a very urgent and literal sense—after hearing bombs exploding around him during his National Guard deployment to Iraq. Are there any parts of the Bible you liked or understood on a somewhat superficial level, but came to gain a deeper perspective on after a pivotal life event? Did your relationship with God also evolve as a result? Psalm 119:11
4. Nick cites a frequently repeated maxim that states “The best gift you can give your children is a good marriage.” Did your own parents give you that gift? How did their marriage and the way they treated each other impact your personality and worldview? When you became an adult, did you desire to follow their example in your own committed relationships, or did you hope to do things very differently? Why? Ephesians 5:25
5. As a child, what were you taught about the nature of God’s love? Was it something joyful, to be celebrated, or was it taught to you as being more obligatory, even transactional? What were your reactions to hearing Nick quote several Bible verses (such as Psalms 42:8, “Each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me”) that portray God’s love as unrestrained, even effusive?
6. Nick uses a broad definition of the word “adoption” to praise a number of important people in his life who, though they did not become his official parents in a legal sense, took him under their wings and treated him like a son just the same. Going by that definition, who are some of the people who have “adopted” you in your life? What did you gain from them? What did it feel like to know they liked and cared about you as if you were their own son? Romans 8:15
7. Great selfless acts don’t always have to have grandiose motivations—Nick says he and his wife fostered, and later adopted, their daughter simply because they had the ability and knew their help was needed. Have you ever done something for which you were widely praised—even hailed as heroic—though your motivations for doing so were much simpler and humbler? How did that praise make you feel? Did you ever feel unworthy of it? Mark 10:45